In this week's comments update, readers are discussing No Footprint House in Costa Rica and sharing their views on other top stories.
The architect who designed a prefabricated house in Costa Rica, which was created as a prototype for a series of future zero-carbon homes, is engaging with readers who have commented on the story.
Studio A-01 built No Footprint House in the Central Valley of Costa Rica before transporting it to its site in Ojochal, a small village located in the Puntarenas province.
"Is there any protection against bugs and creepy-crawlies""
But readers have questions for the architecture studio. "Nice effort, but a bit impractical," said Apsco Radiales. "Is there any protection against bugs and creepy-crawlies if you open the slats"" "There is no absolute protection," replied architect Oliver Schuette. "It helped tremendously to raise the building from the ground and to surround it with edgy pebbles. Landscaping and plants can do a lot to keep certain 'unwanted guests' away from your house. We try to go with nature-based solutions as much as we can. Beyond that it's co-existence and survival of the fittest."
"Prefabrication of passive houses is really delicate because passive houses have so many orientations: the site, the sun path, the wind direction, the urban orientation," continued Bras Cubas. "But this house has no orientation at all."
Schuette replied: "The most sensi...